Wednesday, September 07, 2011

What Can I Say? I'm Picky.

I did something naughty recently - I went out to lunch. Oh sure, I more than occasionally grab my midday meal from one of the food trucks parked outside, and sometimes even from one of the restaurants in the area, but in each case, I take my food back to my office and eat it at my desk. On this particular day, however, I grabbed a bus, left the neighborhood, and ate lunch in a restaurant that I consider a fine-dining establishment

There were two issues with this meal: the food; and the service. I guess you could say those are big issues, but perhaps I'm merely being nitpicky. Let's start with the food.

Description Deception

I had checked out the menu ahead of time and by the time I got there was really craving what was billed as a "fried green tomato" po' boy with shrimp remoulade. I pictured myself chowing down on a hoagie roll crammed full of tart green tomato slices that had been bread-crumbed and fried, with a topping of remoulade sauce seasoned with bits of shrimp. What I got was essentially a shrimp-salad sandwich with some raw sliced green tomatoes. Not fried green tomatoes.

WTF?

Otherwise, it was a fine shrimp salad sandwich. Oh, the pickle slices may have been cut too thickly, but the flavors were good and the accompanying potato salad was terrific; it reminded me of my grandma's.

On to my second issue, one which I've encountered in other restaurants.

"No Problem."

I hate hate HATE hearing waiters say, "no problem" to everything a customer says. In this instance, I ordered off the damn menu, requested no substitutions, and if said waiter expected a tip, he shouldn't have acted like he's doing me a big favor. And I know that's not the intention, but that's what it sounds like. Because the opposite of "no problem" is "there is a problem," and if there's something that I don't want to be at a restaurant, a place to which I am giving my hard-earned cash, is a problem. You know what I'm saying? Waiters should just smile, say, "thank you," and walk away. I don't expect a waiter to be overly formal (obsequiousness drives me nuts, too), but I don't like casual, either, especially in a fine dining establishment.